Incident alert
LOCATION:
CONTRACTING - ON-HIGHWAY
ACTIVITY:
PUBLIC SAFETY MANAGEMENT
SUB ACTIVITY:
NO SUB ACTIVITY AVAILABLE
DATE ISSUED:
16/08/2019 16:45:23
TITLE
Flailing operation on hedgerow puts public at risk - near miss
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
United Kingdom
ACCIDENT / INCIDENT DETAILS
During recent operations by a road surfacing team, part of the work involved cutting back a hedgerow prior to the road surfacing operations. A tractor and flail was used for this operation, the activity resulted in a near miss incident. The hedgerow was 4m thick and the subcontractor undertaking the task was experienced in this type of work. Pedestrians were diverted away from the side of the hedge being cut back. However, despite the completion of a risk assessment, the full impact of the flailing action of the machinery involved had not been considered. There had been insufficient communication with the residential properties on the opposite side of the hedge. It was not foreseen that the operations would affect them. Debris from the flailing exercise travelled through the hedgerow and landed around the property of a resident. No people were harmed but it was by chance that nobody was present when the tractor and flail passed by.
ACCIDENT / INCIDENT IMAGES
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LEARNING POINTS / ACTIONS TAKEN
- Technical performance specifications for any machinery used on site must be incorporated into the risk assessment process.
- Prior to commencement of works on a site, all types of machinery must have been considered within the RAMS document.
- The potential impact on members of the public and surrounding property at every step of the process must be considered.
LEARNING POINTS / ACTIONS IMAGES
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Debris in drive
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